Abarth 1000 Scorpione

The Brooklands Memorial stands behind this Fiat 850 Coupe. Built by Vickers Armstrong to mark the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Motor Course, it was unveiled by Lord Brabazon of Tara in July 1957.

Story and photos by Jonathan Sharp

This is the fifth year in a row that Jonathan Sharp has covered the Italian Car Day at Brooklands. And despite the narrow focus, there are very few repeats, as can be seen by Sharp’s photo selections over the years.

2013
2014
2015
2016

As Pete has said, I have covered the Italian Car Day at Brooklands for VeloceToday for the past 5 years but I have been attending the Italian Car Day in its various guises and locations for over 30 years. This year, as usual, Brooklands was groaning under the weight of Italian cars. But there seemed to be a higher percentage of newer cars, which would seem to indicate to me that those who currently buy new Italian cars also embrace the Italian life style and motoring heritage. Walking around the site I kept coming upon cars that I once owned, or have wanted to own – and I am not talking about the Ferraris and Lamborghini’s that were present in reasonable numbers. I get more of a buzz coming across an immaculate Alfa Sud or a Fiat 130 than I do finding a paddock full of 458’s and Aventadores. And, therefore, it is those types of cars that we present in this article.